Refrigerant compressor valve arrangement



3 1946- I F. RATAIC'ZAK 2,413,653

REFhIGERANT COMPRESSOR VALVE ARRANGEMENT Filed NOV. 15, 1943 Hll 44 4is: I MI 40 I INVENTOR.

Patented Dec. 31, 194% para "r v w th REFRIGERANT UDMPRESSQR VALVEARRANGEMENT Francis 1. Rataicaak, Dayton, t'iliio, assignmto GeneralMotorsflomration, Dayton, Ohio, a

corporation of Delaware Application November 15, 1943, Serial No.510.315

s c ion. 82-415) This invention relates to refrigerating appa-- ratusandmore particularly to an improved refrigerant compressor valvearrangement for use v in a refrigerating system.

This application is directed to an improvement over the arrangementdisclosed in my copending application Serial Number 394,645; filed May28, 1941.

More particularly it is an object of this invention to reduce the amountof labor required in machining the parts of a compressor.

Further objects-and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearlyshown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 somewhat diarrammatically shows a refrigerating system includinga compressor constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on a enlarged scale showing thevalve'assembly.

Referring now to the drawing in which I have shown a preferredembodiment of my invention reference numeral ill designates generallyahermetically sealed motor compressor unit. Reference numeral i2designates a substantially cupshaped stamped sheet metal casing whichforms the main support for both the compressor assembly generallydesignated by the reference numeral 86 and the motor stator iii.Reference numeral l8 designates a conventional motor rotor. A stampedsheet metal end cap i'i encloses the upper end of the cup-shaped casing82 and forms therewith a high pressure refrigerant vapor chamber. Theend cap it is welded or otherwise secured to the main casing 52. Heatconducting fins 2! may be secured to the outside of the casing element52 to help dissipate the heat. The high pressure gas flows through thecondenser 26 in which it is condensed and collects in liquid phase inthe receiver 22. The liquid refrigerant flows from the receiver 22 intothe evaporator 24 through a conventional refrigerant flow control device28. The refrigerant flow control device may be of any conventionalconstruction and is preferably of the fixed restrictor type in which thehigh pressure liquid refrigerant is required to flow through a longnarrow capillary passage. v

Th refrigerant vaporized in the evaporator 24 returns to the compressorthrough the element 28 which communicates with a passage 30 formed inthe compressor mounting block 82. The upper end of the passage 30 isprovided with an enlarged portion 38 in which a check valve assemblygenerally designated by the reference numeral 38 is mounted. The checkvalve assembly Bil comprises a tubular element 10 provided with aninternal shoulder which provides a valve seat 62. A valve plate 44cooperates with the seat 62 in accordance with well-known practice.

A combination valve stop and valve guide member 46 is provided which isformed out of a fiat piece of stamped sheet metal material and bent intothe shape shown. The element it includes three or more pointedprojections 68 which serve as stops for limiting the upward movement ofthe valve plate 44 and alsoincludes a plurality of valve guide members5| which not only serve to guide the valv plate 44 but also serve tolimit the downward movement of the element it within the element 40. Theouter diameter of the element is slightly less than the diameter of thepassage in which it is mounted whereby the element at is free to adjustitself within the passage W. A neoprene gasket 53 is provided asshown-and serves to provide a gas tight joint between the outer wall ofthe element 40 and the wall of the passage 30.

The valve assembly 38 is held in place in the recesses by the compressorand plate element til which is secured to the block 32 and one or moreadditional blocks 39, which in turn are welded or otherwise secured tothe bottom wall of the casing l2. The bottom surface of the compressorand plate 50 is a lapped surface whereas the top surfaces of themounting blocks 82 and 33 are merely rough cut surfaces. 'The term"rough cut surface as used herein is intended to designate a surfacesuch a produced by the ordinary cuftirg tool of a latheas distinguishedfrom a highly polished or lapped surface. It has been found that theblocks 32 and 39 may be used to accurately support the compressor intrue perpendicular relationship with respect to the axis of the centralo ening of th motor stator, even thoueh not all of the tool marks havebeen removed from the upper surface of the mounting blocks.

The upper end surface 51 of the element to is a lapped surface whichwhen pressed against the lapped surface on the end plate Elli formsa gastight seal between the element All and end plate so. The thickness ofthe asket 53 is such that when th compressor is fastened onto themounting blocks 32 and 39 by one or more bolts 53, the surface 51 isheld firmly in engagement with the machined sur ace of the compressorend plate element 50. By virtue of this arrangement it is obvious thatthe valve assembly 88 is held in erant vapor from place solely by thecompressor end plate It whereby in the event of valve failure, thedamaged valve part or parts may be replaced with a minimum amount ofdifliculty.

As shown in Fig. 1 the compressor assembly Ill comprises a lower endplate I. a cylinder ole-- ment 5! and an upper end'plate il whichinclude the main bearing 5%. The compressed refrigerant leaves thecompressor, through the outlet 80 which discharges into the interior ofthe main motor-compressor casing II, in accordance with standardpractice whereby ing the compressor corresponds to the highsidepressure.

The compressor assembly i4 shown in the drawthe pressure surround-'elements is: are provided with lugs m and m which are bent over so as tohold the motor sta- .tor in proper position within the casing if.

The foregoing construction reduces the number of parts required andsimplifies the machin-- might be adopted, as'may come within the scopeof the claims which follow. I

ing is intended to represent any conventional rohaving a bottom inletport such as the port 18. In view of the fact that many of the detailsof the compressor are immaterial to my present invention, it is notdeemed necessary to give a detailed description of the. compressor andits mode of operation. in this application. For a more detaileddescription of the compressor construction shown herein reference ishereby made to my aforementioned copending application.

The end plate 80 is provided with a tapered passage 18 which conveys thelow pressure refrigthe inlet valve assembly to the compression chamber88. By virtue of the taperin the walls of the passage I8, any slightmisalignment between the end plate 50 and the inlet valve 38 will notinterfere with the free flow of refrigerant from the inlet valve to thecompression chamber. The mounting block 32 is provided with'arefrigerant charging plug 88 which has a first passage 88 communicatingwith the compressor inlet passage 30 and a second passage 88communicating with the passage 90 in the mounting block 32. The lowerend plate 50 of thecompressor is cut away as at 92 so as to provide apassage from the high pressure refrigerant chamber to the passage 88 andthe passage l8. The outer ends of the passages 88 and 88 are sealed bymeans of a plug 94 and a lead plated copper gasket 98. The gasket 96 isprovided with apertures $8 in alignment with the passages 88 and 88. Theplug 94 is provided with a single passage I80 through which refrigerantand/ orlubricant may be added to or removed from the refrigerant systemupon partially unscrewing the plug 84. By virtue of this arrangement,both the high side and the low side of the refrigerating system may bevery quickly evacuated prior to chargingthe tary compressor system withrefrigerant'and lubricant.

The motor stator I8 is held in place by means of special clamps such asI02. In the prior art devices it has been customary to provide a pressfitbetween the outer shell of the compressor and the motor stator. Insuch an arrangement, it is very difficult to properly hold the motorstator What is claimed is aafollows: 1 i. In a refrigerating system, acompressor, a casing enclosing said compressor, said compressor havingan inlet port in one wall thereof and having a lapped surface adjacenttosaid inlet port, means for discharging the compressed refrigerant intosaid casing, a compressor mounting block secured to said casing andhaving a low pressure refrigerant vapor passage therein communicatingwith said inlet port, means providing a gastight seal between thepassage in said mounting block and said compressor including a tubularinsert in said vapor passage having a lapped surface inengagement withthe lapped surface on said compressor, and a gasket means between saidtubular insert. and the wall of said passage, said gasket means servingto urge said tubular insert into sealing engagement with the lappedsurface on said compressor. f

2. In a sealed motor compressor mechanism, the combination, a casing, acompressor within said casing having a port in one wall thereof, saidcompressor having a smooth outer surface adjacent said port, acompressor mounting block projecting through one wall of said casing'andhaving a refrigerant passage in alignment with said port, and a valveassembly disposed within said refrigerant pe and held in place thereinby the compressor. said valve assembly including means forming a gastight sealwith said smooth surface.

3. In a compressor mechanism. the combination, a casing, a compressorwithin said casing having a port in one wall'thereof, a compressor Imounting block projecting through one wall of said casing and having arefrigerant'passage in alignment with said port. a valve assemblydisposed within said refrigerant paseage and held in place therein bythe compressor, said compressor and said valve assembly includingopposed smooth surfaces, and resilient means holding said opposedsurfaces in sealin engagement with one another.

4. In a sealed motor compressor mechanism, the combination, a casing,compressor mounting blocks secured within said casing, a refrigerantpassage through one of said blocks, a valve assembly disposed withinsaid passage, resilient in lace unless a very heavy cast iron frame orthe equivalent is used, and once the motor stator is inserted, it isvery dimcult to remove it for inspection or repair purposes. 'By virtueof the clamping arrangement shown, a light weight sheet metal casing maybe used and the final sizing operation may be performed merely byforcing a die of proper size onto the open end of the casing so as todeform the projecting portion of the clamps ill! the necessary amount.This arrangement of parts and method of. sizing eliminates the necessityfor turning the inner surface of the outer shell i2 to size on a lathe.The clamping means for biasing said valveassembly so as to projectbeyond the surface of said block, the projecting portion of said valveassembly including a smooth sealing surface, a compressor assemblyhaving an inlet port in alignment with said passage and having a smoothsurface in engagement with the smooth surface on said valve assembly.

5. In combination, a casing, a compressor mounting block within saidcasing, a refrigerant passage in said mounting block, a valve assemblydisposed substantially within said passage, a motor stator disposedwithin said casing having a central opening therein, the upper surfaceof said mounting block comprising a' rough cut surface aeiaeee tralopening, a compressor assembly disposed within said casing and having asmooth surface arranged at right angles to the axis of said cenrestingon said compressor mounting block and 7 having a port communicating withsaid refrigerant passage,'said valve assembly including an elementhaving a smooth surface in sealing en gagement with said first namedsmooth surface, and a motor rotor disposed within said central openingin driving engagement with said com pressor. p 1

6. In combination, a compressor, a casing en closing said compressor,said compressor having a a prising a tubular member having a lapped endsurface in engagement with said first named 'lapped surface, and meansbiasing said lapped surfaces into sealing contact with one another.FRANCIS I. RATAICZAK.

